james wallace packard



(No Model.)

J. W. PACKARD.

SHOE.

No. 454,376. Patented June 16, 1891.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES IVALLACE PACKARD, OF BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 454,376, dated June 16,1891.

Application filed October 8, 1890.

T0 aZl whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, JAMEs WALLACE PACK- ARD, of Brockton, in the countyof Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Boots or Shoes, of which the following, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

Many varieties of boots and shoes contain leather toe-caps appliedoutside the toe of the upper, and to keep the toe of the boot or shoe inplace what are known as box-toes are applied within the toe of the upperand between the upper and its usual lining. These box-toes are commonlycomposed of leather-board or of sole-leather; but they areobjectionable, because to serve the desired purpose at all they mustnecessarily be quite thick and stilt, so much so as to make them veryuncomfortable for the wearer of the boot or shoe containing them.Further, these box-toes are made by molding the leatherboard or soleleather into shape under a heavy pressure, and when indented by a blowthey fail to return to their original shape, and consequently when theylose their shape there is no way of restoring the shape of the toe ofthe boot or shoe containing them.

In my experiments to provide boots or shoes having leather toe-caps withan internal cap-support having the property of yielding to a blow andthen of resuming its original shape, and at the same time not by itsstiffness or thickness make a hard or objectionable ridge at the toe, Ihave taken the material known as wire-cloth and have interposed itbetween the usual toe-cap and the toe of the upper, thus leaving theinterior of the boot or shoe at the toe smooth for contact against thetoe of the wearer.

My invention consists in a boot or shoe having a Wire-cloth cap-supportinterposed between the toe of the upper and the toe cap, as will bedescribed.

Figure 1 in side elevation represents a laced boot or balmoral shoeembodying my invention, the toe being broken out to show the cap-supportand cap. Fig. 2 shows the blank for a toe-cap support, and Fig. 3 asec-Serial No. 367,417. (No model.)

tional view of the toe-cap support having its interstices filled withpulp or other suitable be of any usual or suitable shape or material.The toe of the vamp has applied to it externally a toe-cap support at,and over it a toe-cap e, the said toe-cap and vamp when united to thesole by usual fastenings f inclosing between them the toe-cap support,the latter being shaped or crimped together with the toe of the upperand the toe-cap during the lasting of the boot or shoe.

A wire-cloth toe cap support, when composed of steel or hard brass wiresuch as I prefer to use, possesses very considerable elasticity, so thatif indented it will spring back into its original shape, or, if the blowis very hard and severe, is capable of being bent back intosubstantially its original shape.

The toe-cap support being thin and being placed wholly outside the vampoffers no objectionable obstruction to the toe of the wearer.

If heavy pressure is put upon the outside of the shoe in the process oftreeing, the toe cap will be indented to show the wire-cloth within it,and so for toes that are treed by heavy pressure I may cover thewire-cloth on one or both sides with paper -pulp or with a sheet ofpaper or like substance, as shown in Fig. 3, the paper preventing thewire from indenting the toe-cap sufiiciently to show.

Vhen the wire-cloth is bent or rounded over the last, the wires willconverge over the toe, thus making a smooth strong toe-cap supportinside the toe-cap.

I am aware that a shoe-tip has been composed of wire-cloth, as in UnitedStates Patent No. 27,433.

Having described my invention, I claim-- 1. A boot or shoe containing avamp, a sole, and a toe-cap, combined with a toe-cap support composed ofwire-cloth applied outside of the toe and interposed between the upperand toe-cap, substantially as described.

2. A boot or shoe containing a vamp, a

sole, and avtoe-cap, combined with a toe-cap support composed ofwire-cloth applied outside of the toe and interposed between the upperandthe t0e;cap, the said wire-cloth 5 having its interstices -filled'with paper or equivalent, substantially as described.

In testimony whereofi I'have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 6th dayof October, A.D. 1890.

' JAMES VALLACE PACKARD. lVitnesses:

WARREN A. REED, J. B. RAEEERTY.

